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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
CHICAGO (AP) -- Let the San Antonio Spurs say they played soft.
The Chicago Bulls will take this victory -- and they'll take it with
pride.
|  | | Chicago's Ron Mercer scores against David Robinson during Thursday's game. |
Ron Mercer scored 24 of his 33 points in the second half,
including the go-ahead 17-foot jumper with 52 seconds to go, as the
Chicago Bulls beat the San Antonio Spurs 105-104 on Thursday night.
Brad Miller sealed the victory by making two free throws with
four seconds left.
"It was just great for the whole team," Mercer said. "Just
great. Period."
With a roster full of youngsters and very few veterans, the
Bulls needed their best game of the year to beat San Antonio. They
got it, shooting a season-best 54 percent (42-of-78).
Elton Brand had 22 points before fouling out with 1:45 to go,
and Miller finished with 11 points and six rebounds. Bryce Drew had
12 points and 11 assists.
It was only the second win at home this season for the Bulls.
They beat Orlando on Nov. 9.
"It was a terrific win for our guys," coach Tim Floyd said.
"Hopefully we can build off of this."
The Spurs, meanwhile, have to figure out where they go from
here. They're losing ground on the Western Conference leaders, and
coach Gregg Popovich is disgusted with the way his team is playing.
"I'm officially declaring us a soft team -- both mentally and
physically," Popovich said. "It's everybody's fault, coaches and
players alike. We need to decide from this point if we want to do
something about it."
The Spurs shot 53 percent (36-of-68), but they turned the ball
over 14 times and only outrebounded the Bulls 32-29.
David Robinson led the Spurs with 28 points and eight rebounds,
Tim Duncan scored 25 and Derek Anderson 15.
"This was straight out of left field because we really felt
like we had been playing better basketball," Robinson said. "And
then to come in here and not play even close to the way we're
capable of playing."
The Spurs had plenty of chances. Danny Ferry gave San Antonio an
80-72 lead with 10:31 left on a 21-foot jumper, but Mercer rallied
the Bulls. He scored Chicago's first eight points of the fourth
quarter, and his jumper with 8:27 left cut San Antonio's margin to
83-80.
Terry Porter hit a 14-footer to give San Antonio a 96-93 lead,
but Brand scored on an 11-foot jumper, and then Drew made a
3-pointer to give Chicago a 98-97 lead with 2:38 left.
"The last three or four minutes in the fourth quarter, we were
there," Mercer said. "We just tried to make our shots at the end
and not give the game away."
San Antonio looked like it might escape when Brand fouled out.
Duncan made the free throws, and San Antonio had a 101-100 lead
with 1:45 to play.
But the Spurs were called for illegal defense, and Fred Hoiberg
made the free throw to tie it. Robinson was fouled by Miller, but
missed the first free throw.
That set up Mercer's jumper, and the Bulls' reserves jumped to
their feet as the ball swished through. The sellout crowd of 21,793
cheered like it was the good old days at the United Center.
"Ron Mercer was outstanding," Floyd said. "He made big shot
after big shot down the stretch."
The Spurs had one more try, but Anderson missed a jumper with
about 30 seconds left, and then was called for the loose-ball foul
on Miller.
"I hope we can learn from this," Floyd said. "The only
difference in this game and the last six or seven at home is we
didn't beat ourselves down the stretch. That's something young
teams fall prey to."
Old teams, too.
"When you lose a game like this, what else can you say?"
Robinson said. "This is all about coming in mentally prepared and
doing your job, and we didn't do it."
Game
notes
Former Bulls player Steve Kerr drew a huge cheer when he
entered the game with a little more than two minutes left in the
first quarter. ... Daniels left the game at halftime with a sore
right Achilles and did not return. He had five points and four
assists in 17 minutes. ... Chicago is 8-2 under Floyd when it
scores 100 or more points.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
San Antonio Clubhouse
Chicago Clubhouse
RECAPS
Milwaukee 107
Cleveland 89
Boston 112
New Jersey 111
Orlando 102
Detroit 96
Dallas 105
LA Clippers 96
Minnesota 88
Atlanta 81
Portland 103
Utah 102
Chicago 105
San Antonio 104
Toronto 94
Denver 93
LA Lakers 115
Phoenix 78
Sacramento 91
Charlotte 87
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